Systems and methods for memory tracing in asset managing systems

ABSTRACT

The present embodiments relate to implementing change data on no-master NoSQL data stores. An optimized node can be identified from a plurality of NoSQL data storage nodes and a specialized node can be connected (e.g., collocated) to the optimized node. The specialized node can maintain change data capture (CDC) data provided by client nodes in a hash map that can be used as a point of truth for coordinating CDC data across the plurality of NoSQL data storage nodes. The plurality of NoSQL data storage nodes can identify and coordinate all read/write data obtained from multiple client devices in a geographically separated large-scale (e.g., planet scale) system to identify change data in a distributed data store. The specialized data can provide read data to devices in the large-scale system to reconcile inconsistencies in change data across nodes in the large-scale system.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/191,998, filed Mar. 4, 2021, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MEMORYTRACING IN ASSET MANAGING SYSTEMS”, the entire contents of which isincorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, under 35 U.S.C.§ 120.

BACKGROUND

Modern hardware components include or are connected to a variety ofmemory-based components that store information usable during operatingof the hardware components. For example, a motherboard of a networkswitch may include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which storesnetwork workloads and data packets. The motherboard may also includeother types of memory such as an electronically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), which may store firmware for the motherboard,field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), which may store power managementlogic, and the like.

Some of the memory-based components may be known to store sensitive userinformation, critical configuration settings, and secrets that allowremote management of device or systems (e.g., passwords, authenticationkeys, etc.). In one example, a flash memory may store user applicationsand metadata related to the operation of the user applications. Thesecomponents, though not directly storing user information, may storeinformation that could be used to compromise the security of computingsystem and thereby fraudulently access the user information. In anotherexample, a CPU of the network switch may store Internet Protocol (IP)frames transmitted over the wire to non-volatile memory for furtheranalysis and/or debugging (e.g., referred to as packet mirroring).

BRIEF SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure include a method for tracing memorycomponents in asset management systems. The method comprises: receiving,by an computing device, an indication that a new device has beenconnected to a network; transmitting, to the new device, a memoryidentification command; receiving, from the new device, a first set ofmemory specifications, each memory specification of the first set ofmemory specifications identifying a component of the new deviceconfigured to store data; receiving, from a remote computing device, asecond set of memory specifications, each memory specification of thesecond set of memory specifications identifying a component of the newdevice configured to store data; generating, based on a comparison ofthe first set of memory specifications to the second set of memoryspecifications, a memory-asset data structure that stores a third set ofmemory specifications, each memory specification of the third set ofmemory specifications being a memory specification that is in both thefirst set of memory specifications and the second set of memoryspecifications; assigning, to each of one or more memory specificationsof the third set of memory specifications, a data privacy level that isbased on a sensitivity of data stored in the component of the new deviceidentified by the memory specification; and transmitting thememory-asset data structure.

Another aspect of the present disclosure comprises a system comprisingone or more processors and a non-transitory computer-readable media thatincludes instructions that when executed by the one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to perform the methods described above

Another aspect of the present disclosure comprises a non-transitorycomputer-readable media that includes instructions that when executed byone or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform themethods described above.

These illustrative embodiments are mentioned not to limit or define thedisclosure, but to provide examples to aid understanding thereof.Additional embodiments are discussed in the Detailed Description, andfurther description is provided there.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, embodiments, and advantages of the present disclosure arebetter understood when the following Detailed Description is read withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram of tracing memory by an assetmanagement system to certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an example of fields of a memory specification according tocertain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an example flowchart of a process for tracing memory by anasset management system according to certain aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts an example flowchart of a process for modifying memoryspecifications by an asset management system according to certainaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating one pattern for implementing acloud infrastructure as a service system, according to at least oneembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating another pattern for implementinga cloud infrastructure as a service system, according to at least oneembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating another pattern for implementinga cloud infrastructure as a service system, according to at least oneembodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating another pattern for implementinga cloud infrastructure as a service system, according to at least oneembodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system,according to at least one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The methods and systems described herein involve tracing memory-basedcomponents in asset management systems. Asset management systems trackhardware devices and software of large networks (e.g., cloud networks,data centers, enterprise systems, etc.). For example, a data center mayinclude servers, network switches, databases, etc., and the varioussoftware executing on each device. Each device may include variousmemory-based components that store different types of data used duringoperation of the device. For example, a motherboard of a network switchmay include a solid state drive (SSD) that stores applications and userdata, SPI flash that stores basic input/output system (BIOS) firmware,an SPI flash that stores log data and mirrored traffic data, and othermemory-based components. Some memory-based components such as the SSD inthe previous example, may store user data. Other memory-based componentsmay not store user data directly, but may be used to indirectly accessuser data (e.g., mirrored traffic data, etc.) or may be compromised toenable fraudulent access to the user information of the device.

An asset management system may track each memory-based component ofdevices as the devices are added to a same network, a data center, aasset management system, a cloud network, enterprise, or the like toprevent unauthorized access of memory-based components that may storeuser data, data usable to access user data, data usable to compromisethe device, etc. For example, a client device may obtain anidentification of a new device (e.g., a serial number or the like) to beadded to the network. The new device may then be connected to thenetwork (e.g., added to a server, connected to a network switch orgateway, etc.). When the new device comes online the asset managementsystem may query the new device for a set of memory specifications. Eachmemory specification may correspond to a memory-based componentconfigured to store data. Examples of properties included in a memoryspecification include, but are not limited to, an identification of amemory-based component, an identification of a type of memory,configuration information associated with the memory-based component,identification of content stored by the memory-based component, capacityof the memory-based component, indication as to whether the memory-basedcomponent can be removed from the new device, whether the memory-basedcomponent stores user data, whether the memory-based component has abattery backup, combinations thereof, or the like.

The asset management system may query a volatility database that stores,for each device, a set of memory specifications generated by an entityassociated with the device (e.g., such as a manufacturer of the device,an administrator of the device, an owner of the device, a previous ownerof the device, or the like.). The asset management system may comparethe set of memory specifications received from the new device to the setof memory specifications received from the volatility database. Theasset management system may generate a memory-asset data structure thatincludes each memory specification that is included in both the set ofmemory specifications from the new device and the set of memoryspecifications from the volatility database). The asset managementsystem than receive a memory policy (e.g., from a policy database, orthe like). The memory policy may indicate, for each memoryspecification, a data privacy level that corresponds to the data storedin the memory identified by the memory specification. For example, thedata privacy level may include public (e.g., the data is not sensitiveand can be accessed by anyone), secret (e.g., the data is sensitive andaccess should be restricted), top secret (e.g., the data is highlysensitive and access should be restricted to only specificallyenumerated users), or the like.

The asset management system may identify discrepancies between the setof memory specifications from the new device and the set of memoryspecifications from the volatility database. For instance, the set ofmemory specifications from the new device may include memoryspecifications or entries therein that are not included in the set ofmemory specifications from the volatility database (or vice versa). Inthose instance, the asset management system may transmit a query to aclient device for information associated with missing memoryspecifications (e.g., such as a location in which the missing memoryspecifications are stored, an identification of an older missing memoryspecification that may be used, etc.) or the missing entries therein.The client device may provide information to the asset management systemthat reconciles the differences between the set of memory specificationsfrom the new device and the set of memory specifications from thevolatility database such that the memory-asset data structure includes aset of memory specifications that accurately identifies eachmemory-based component of the new device.

The memory-asset data structure may then be transmitted (e.g., to alocal or remote storage device, a database, a server, one or more clientdevices, etc.) for use in managing sensitive data within a system. Upondetecting a change in the operation status of one or more devices, theasset management system may access the memory-asset data structure toperform one or more actions. For example, if an existing deviceconnected to the asset management system is updated (e.g., hardwareupdate modifying one or more of the memory-based components, softwareupdate modifying the functionality of one or more of the memory-basedcomponents or the contents of a memory-based component, and/or thelike), the asset management system may identify a list of affecteddevices and update the memory specifications in the memory-asset datastructure associated of each device of the list of affected devices. Theasset management system may then apply the policy from the policydatabase to each updated memory specifications (e.g., to ensure that thedata privacy level of each memory specifications accurately categorizesthe sensitivity of the data being stored by the memory-based componentrepresented by the memory specification).

In another example, the change in operation status of a device mayindicate that a device has reached end-of-life. Memory-based components,such as hard-disk drives (HDDs), flash, or SSDs have a failure rate thatincreases over time (e.g., based on mechanical wear, a limitation on anumber of reads/writes, etc.), which can affect an ability of a deviceto reliably store data, maintain a requisite data redundancy, or satisfyread requests. When the asset management system receives and indicationthat a device has reached end-of-life (e.g., risk of failure is greaterthan a threshold, time, number of writes has occurred, number of readshave occurred, user input, device has been replaced with a newer model,etc.), the asset management system may retrieve the memory-asset datastructure associated with the device to determine the privacy level ofeach memory-based component of the device. If a data privacy level of amemory-based component is high, then the asset management system maycause the memory-based component to be erased (e.g., overwrite withzeros, ones, or random data, restored to factory settings, provisionedwith predetermined data or code, combinations thereof, or the like). Insome instances, if a data privacy level is anything higher than public(e.g., any indicator that the data stored by the memory-based componentis sensitive), then the data management system may cause thememory-based component to be erased. Once each memory-based componentmarked for erasure is erased, the data management system may cause thedevice to reach end-of-life (e.g., discarded, recycled, disconnectedfrom the system managed by the asset management system, etc.).

Examples of the one or more operations may include, but are not limitedto, destroying memory-based components, replacing memory-basedcomponents, erasing memory-based components, destroying the device,limiting how the device can be used or repurposed (e.g., thefunctionality performable by the device, the users the device mayinteract with, etc.), returning the device and/or memory-based componenttherein to a manufacturer, transferring the device, remanufacturing thedevice, or the like. Change in an operational status of a device caninclude, but are not limited to, change in functionality of a device,change in a use of a device, end-of-life of a device, updating softwareor hardware of a device, downgrading hardware or software of a device,modifying software or hardware of a device, a change in a user or set ofusers associated with a device (e.g., users that interact, use, and/oroperate the device, etc.), a change in ownership of a device, and/or anychange in the data or the use of the data stored in any memory-basedcomponent of a device. The asset management system may use thememory-asset data structure to ensure that memory-based components donot leak sensitive user data, leak data usable to access sensitive userdata, or leak data usable to compromise the security of systems managedby the asset management system.

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram of tracing memory by an assetmanagement system to certain aspects of the present disclosure. System100 may be a network, data center, cloud network, or the like thatincludes one or more devices. Asset management system 104 may operate totrack and manage devices (and components therein) within a system. Forexample, asset management system 104 may identify devices and componentstherein, determine when new devices are added to system 100, determinewhen devices are disconnected from system 100, determine when devicesare updated or modified, define maintenance schedules for devices,determine when devices reach end-of-life or otherwise should be removedfrom system 100, etc. In some instances, asset management system 104 maybe a computing device connected to the system. Asset management system104 may include one or more processors coupled to memory that storesinstructions for executing one or more processes of the asset managementsystem. In other instances, asset management system 104 operate as asoftware process executing on a device (e.g., such as device 120-1,120-2, 120-3 . . . 120-n or other devices or other devices that may ormay not be connected to system 100). In still yet other instances, assetmanagement system 104 may be a distributed process that executes on twoor more devices (e.g., such as device 120-1, 120-2, 120-3 . . . 120-n ofsystem 100 or other devices that may or may not be connected to system100).

Asset management system 104 may be connected to one or more clientdevices 108 that may operate asset management system 104 such as to add,update, remove, and/or manage devices, components, and/or softwareconnected to the system. For instance, when a new device is added to thesystem, such as server 112, client device 108 may obtain an identifierof server 112 (e.g., a serial number, or the like) and transmit theidentifier to asset management system 104. Asset management system 104may determine that server 112 is a new device (e.g., compare theidentifier to a record of known identifiers) and add the identifier tothe list of managed assets. Server 112 may then be connected to thesystem. For instance, server 112 may be connected to rack 116, which mayinclude one or more power supplies (primary, secondary, redundancies,etc.) and one or more devices 120 (e.g., servers, computing devices,client devices, network switches, or the like). System 100 may includeany number of racks, such as rack 116, and/or devices such as devices120 and/or other devices (e.g., Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and/orany device configured to be connected to a network or store data).Server 112 once connected to rack 116 may transmit a signal to assetmanagement system 104 that indicates to asset management system 104 thatserver 112 has been connected to system 100. For example, server 112 maytransmit a data packet with a device identifier that matches theidentifier transmitted by client device 108. Alternatively, server 112may simply request access to a same network as system 100 causing assetmanagement system 104 to detect the new device connected to the samenetwork. Asset management system 104 may compare connection information(e.g., Internet Protocol address, Media Access Control address, etc.that corresponds to server 112 to the information provided by clientdevice 108 (e.g., the identifier) to determine if that server 112 is theexpected new device.

Asset management system 104 may request, from server 112, informationassociated with each memory-based component of server 112. Amemory-based component may be any component that is configured to storedata (e.g., cache, random access memories, read-only memories,persistent memories, etc.). For example, a server may include amotherboard that includes or is connected to a number of differentmemory-based devices such as, but not limited to, a processor (thatincludes cache memory used during execution of processes by theprocessor), random access memory (e.g., volatile memory that operates tostore temporary information during operation of server 112, persistentstorage (e.g., local or remote HDDs and/or SSDs), one or more flashmemories (e.g., storing log data, error reports and/or error correctiondata, firmware, basic input/output system (BIOS), power control for themotherboard or connected devices such as fans, fan controllers, etc.),and the like. Memory-based devices may store user data that may not beshared with other users/devices. Memory-based devices may also storedata that may indirectly include user data such as log data. Log datamay include information stored by a device for diagnostic, redundancy,error correction purposes or the like. For example, log data of anetwork switch may store a data packets, mirrored traffic information,an identification of connected devices, an identification of previouslyconnected devices, etc. that could include sensitive data, data usableto access sensitive data, or data usable to access sensitive devices(e.g., cryptographic keys, IP addresses, etc.). Memory-based devices mayalso store general data such as BIOS firmware, fan power control, etc.that may be considered public (e.g., a low data privacy level or thelike).

Server 112 may store information associated with each memory-basedcomponent in memory specifications. A memory specification may includean identification of the memory-based component and informationassociated with the memory-based component. Examples of informationassociated with the memory-based component include, but are not limitedto, whether the memory-based component is removable from the device,whether the memory-based component includes volatile or non-volatilememory, the capacity of the memory in the memory-based component, thephysical location of the memory-based component (e.g., the physicallocation within the device), whether the memory-based component includesuser data, an identification of the contents of the memory of thememory-based component, combinations thereof, or the like. Server 112may transmit a first set of memory specifications that correspond to thememory-based components of server 112 to asset management system 104.

Asset management system 104 may request a second set of memoryspecifications from volatility database 124 (e.g., also referred toherein as statement of volatility (SoV) database 124). SoV database 124may store a set of memory specifications (e.g., memory specificationcorresponding to a memory-based component) for each of one or moredevices connected to system 100. In some instances, each set of memoryspecifications may be received from an entity associated with thecorresponding device. For example, system 100 may receive a set ofmemory specifications from a manufacturer of server 112 and store theset of memory specifications in SoV database 124. Examples of entitiesfrom which system 100 may receive a set of memory specificationscorresponding to a device may include, but are not limited to, amanufacturer of the device, a current owner of the device, a previousowner of the device, a previous asset management system, combinationsthereof, or the like.

Asset management system 104 may compare the first set of memoryspecifications to the second set of memory specifications to identifypairs of matching memory specifications (e.g., a memory specificationthat is found in both the first set of memory specifications and thesecond set of memory specifications). Asset management system 104 maydefine a memory-asset data structure including a third set of memoryspecifications that includes each memory specification that is found inboth the first set of memory specifications and the second set of memoryspecifications. The memory-asset data structure may include a record ofeach memory-based component of system 100 (e.g., each represented asmemory specification). The record be a table, directed graph, linkedlist, or any other data structure configured to store or representmemory specifications.

Asset management system 104 may generate flags for additionalinformation based on the comparison between the first set of memoryspecifications and the second set of memory specifications (e.g., suchas if there is no second set of memory specifications in SoV 124 ordifferences between the first set of memory specifications and thesecond set of memory specifications. For instances, asset managementsystem 104 may flag each memory specification of the first set of memoryspecifications that does not have a matching memory specification in thesecond set of memory specifications (e.g., either the second set ofmemory specifications lacks a corresponding memory specification or thecorresponding memory specification does not include the same informationassociated with the memory-based component as the memory specificationfrom the first set of memory specifications). Asset management system104 may also flag each memory specification of the second set of memoryspecifications that does not have a matching memory specification in thefirst set of memory specifications.

One or more client devices 108 may resolve each flag generated by theasset management system. In some instances, client device 108 maygenerate a missing memory specification for the third set of memoryspecifications. In other instances, client device 108 may resolve adifference between a memory specification in the first set of memoryspecifications and corresponding memory specification the second set ofmemory specifications. For example, given a first memory specification(e.g., from the first set of memory specifications) corresponds to anSPI flash memory and a second memory specification (e.g., from the firstset of memory specifications) that also corresponds to the SPI flashmemory, but includes different information (e.g., additional informationin a field, additional fields, less fields, different information in afield, lacks information in a field, etc.), client device 108 mayreconcile the differences by generating a third memory specificationthat includes the correct information from the first memoryspecification and the second memory specification. The third memoryspecification may be added to the third set of memory specifications andthe flag may be cleared. Alternatively, client device 108 may modify thefirst memory specification or the second memory specification with thecorrect information from the first memory specification and the secondmemory specification, store the modified memory specification the thirdset of memory specifications, and clear the flag.

The memory-asset data structure may include memory specifications thatcorrespond to multiple domains, systems, geographical locations,devices, etc. organized into a hierarchy. The hierarchy may organizememory specifications that correspond to a same device (e.g., a set ofmemory specifications), then the sets of memory specifications that arein physical proximity (e.g., those being a same rack, connected to asame power supply, connected to a same network switch or gateway, etc.),then sets of memory specifications that correspond to a same system(e.g., such as a same network, data center, etc.), then sets of memoryspecifications that correspond to a same domain. For example, as shownin FIG. 1 , the hierarchy of the memory-asset data structure mayrepresent the memory specifications of a first domain (of one or moredomains), the hierarchy may then represent memory specifications of eachsystem of the first domain (e.g., including system 100), for system 100,the hierarchy may then represent memory specifications correspond ofeach rack of each system 100 such as rack 116, and for rack 116 thehierarchy may represent the set of memory specifications that correspondto each device 120 connected to rack 116. In other words, a memory-assetdata structure may include a hierarchy that represents memoryspecifications according to domain/system #/rack/device. Otherproperties may be used to organize memory specifications into hierarchy.

Asset management system 104 may retrieve a policy from policy database128. Policy database 128 may store policies that are based on thehierarchy of the memory-asset data structure. A policy may indicate howmemory-based components are to be managed by asset management system 104based on one or more fields of a memory specification. In someinstances, a policy may use one or more fields of a memory specificationto assign a data privacy level to a memory specification. For example, amemory specification indicates that the corresponding memory-basedcomponent stores user data may be assigned a top-secret data privacylevel indicating that the data is highly sensitive. As a result, assetmanagement system 104 control how the device and/or memory-basedcomponent is disposed of when being removed from system 100. Each policyof policy database 128 may assign a data privacy level to a subset ofthe memory specifications represented by the memory-asset data structure(e.g., based on the hierarchy). For example, a policy may be applied tomemory specifications that correspond to devices rack 116. Anotherpolicy of policy database 128 may be applied to memory specificationsthat correspond to devices of system 100. A policy may be applied toeach device at a specified level of the hierarchy and below). Forexample, if a policy is applied to system 100 then it would apply to theset of memory specifications of each device of each rack of system 100.

In some instances, two or more policies may be applied to a same memoryspecification such that the memory specification may be assigned two ormore data privacy level (e.g., one by each policy). If the two or moredata privacy levels do not match, then asset management system 104 mayassign the data privacy level of the two or more data privacy levelsthat his higher (e.g., more restrictive). For example, if a first policyassigns a secret data privacy level and a second policy assigns a topsecret data privacy level than the top secret data privacy level may beassigned to that memory specification. This may prevent a lessrestrictive policy from assigning a data privacy level that a morerestrictive policy assign to a memory specification.

Examples of data privacy levels for assigned to memory specificationscorresponding to memory-based components that store particular contentis found in Table 1 below:

Content Type Privacy Level External User Data Top Secret User Logs TopSecret User Keys Top Secret Data Center Keys Top Secret User Data CenterSecret Configuration User Credentials Top Secret Internal User DataSecret Manufacturer Data Public User Firmware Top Secret Vendor FirmwarePublic Operating System Public System Configuration Public

Once one or more policies are applied to the memory-asset datastructure, the memory-asset data structure may be output. Outputting thememory-asset data structure may include, but is not limited to,transmitting the memory-asset data structure to a computing device, oneor more of one or more client devices 108, a database, a server, or thelike. In some instances, outputting the memory-asset data structure mayinclude transmitting the memory-asset data structure to local memory(e.g., within a same computing device as asset management system 104) orremote memory.

Asset management system 104 may perform one or more operations thatmodify SoV's in SoV database 124 and/or polices in policy database 128.For example, SoV's in SoV database 124 may be modified by adding SoV's,updating SoV's, or deleting SoV's. Policies in policy database 128 maybe modified by adding policies, updating policies, or removing policies.

A client device may add a new SoV by transmitting an identification of anew device (e.g., identifier for a new SoV) and a set of memoryspecifications (e.g., content of the new SoV) to asset management system104. Asset management system 104 may transmit the identification of theSoV and the set of set of memory specifications to SoV database 124 witha command indicating the new SoV is to be added. Asset management system104 may then receive a communication from SoV database 124 indicatingthat the identified SoV has been added.

A client device may update an SoV by transmitting an identification of aSoV to be updated and an indication of what is to be updated. Assetmanagement system 104 may then identify a list of devices that may beaffected by modifying the SoV and transmit the update to the SoV to SoVdatabase 124. Asset management system 104 may then update a record ofeach device of the list of devices based on the updates to the SoV. Forexample, the updates to the SoV may added, remove, and/or modify fieldsof a memory specification of a devices. Asset management system 104 mayidentify a list of devices that are affected and a list of the memoryspecifications of the memory-asset data structure that are associatedwith those devices that have at least one field that is added, removed,or updated due to the updated SoV. Asset management system 104 may thenmodify the memory specifications of the list of memory specifications byadding, removing, and/or modifying the fields of those memoryspecifications according to the updated SoV. Asset management system 104may request and receive a policy associated with the list of devicesfrom policy 128. Asset management system 104 may then apply the policyto the list of memory specifications to assign a data privacy level toeach memory specification of the list of memory specifications.

A client device may delete an SoV by transmitting an identification of aSoV to be deleted to asset management system 104. Asset managementsystem 104 may transmit the identification of the SoV to SoV database124 with a command indicating the identified SoV is to be deleted. Assetmanagement system 104 may then receive a communication from SoV database124 indicating that the identified SoV has been deleted.

A client device may add a policy by transmitting an identification of apolicy to be added and the contents of the policy (e.g., a set of rulesthat when applied, assign a data privacy level to a memoryspecification) to asset management system 104. Asset management system104 may transmit new policy to policy database 128 with a commandindicating the new policy is to be added. Asset management system 104may receive a communication from policy database 128 indicating that thenew policy has been added.

A client device may update a policy by transmitting an identification ofa policy to be updated and the contents of the updated policy to assetmanagement system 104. Asset management system 104 may transmit newpolicy to policy database 128 with a command indicating the new policyis to be updated. Asset management system 104 may receive acommunication from policy database 128 indicating that the new policyhas been added. Asset management system 104 may update the memory-assetdata structure based on the updated policy. Asset management system 104may apply the updated policy in a background process. In some instances,operations performed on devices through asset management system 104 maybe suspended until the updated policy has been applied.

A client device may delete a policy by transmitting an identification ofa policy to be deleted to asset management system 104. Asset managementsystem 104 may transmit the identification of the policy to be deletedto policy database 128 with a command indicating the new policy is to bedeleted. Asset management system 104 may receive a communication frompolicy database 128 indicating that the new policy has been deleted.Asset management system 104 may update the memory-asset data structurebased on the deleted policy. Asset management system 104 may apply theupdated policy in a background process. In some instances, operationsperformed on devices through asset management system 104 may besuspended until the updated policy has been applied. If deleting thepolicy causes the data privacy level assigned to one or more memoryspecifications to be removed (e.g., because the policy no longerapplies), a flag may assigned to the one or more memory specificationsto request user input for assigning a data privacy level to the each ofthe flagged one or more memory specifications. Alternatively, ifdeleting the policy causes the data privacy level assigned to one ormore memory specifications to be removed, asset management system 104may automatically assign a highest data privacy level as a default dataprivacy level. This default data privacy level may be overridden by userinput assigning a data privacy level or from application of anotherpolicy.

In some instances, asset management system 104 may receive an indicationof a change in the operational status of a device or memory-basedcomponent of a device. Asset management system 104 may detect a changein an operational status of a device memory-based component thereinbased on an indication received from the device, an indication receivedfrom a client device, a threshold time interval has expired (e.g., timesince the device or memory-based component was added to system 100,etc.), an error log associated with the device, an indication that afunctionality of the device has changed, combinations thereof or thelike. For example, asset management system 104 may receive an indicationthat a device has been operational for a time interval that is greaterthan a threshold (e.g., an end-of-life threshold) that indicates thedevice or memory-based component therein has reached end-of-life and isto be removed from system 100. In response, asset management system 104may identify the data privacy level of each memory specification thatcorresponds to the memory-based components of the device (e.g., if thedevice has reached end-of-life). Asset management system 104 may thenexecute one or more operations based on any field of each memoryspecification. For instance, asset management system 104 may determineone or more operations based on a data privacy level of each memoryspecification associated with the device, an indication of thevolatility of the memory-based component, an indication of whether thememory-based component having a data privacy level greater than or equalto secret can be removed.

For example, if a memory specification corresponding to a memory-basedcomponent is assigned a data privacy level that is greater than or equalto secret and the memory-based component is removable, then thememory-based component may be removed and the device may proceed toend-of-life (e.g., recycled, repurposed, upgraded, etc.). The removedmemory-based component may be erased and/or destroyed (e.g., dependingon the data privacy level, user input, and/or a policy in policydatabase 128). In another example, if a memory specificationcorresponding to a memory-based component is assigned a data privacylevel that is greater than or equal to secret and the memory-basedcomponent is not-removable the memory-based component may be erasedand/or destroyed (e.g., depending on the data privacy level, user input,and/or a policy in policy database 128). In some instances, a dataprivacy level of secret may cause a memory-based component to be erased(e.g., by writing zero bits, one bits, or random bits) to the memory. Adata privacy level of top secret may cause a memory-based component tobe destroyed.

In some instances, if a memory-based component includes volatile memory(e.g., memory that requires a current to retain data) such as RAM, assetmanagement system 104 may cause the device or memory-based component tobe retained in an unpowered state for a predetermined time interval(with backup power removed or disabled) before being transferred due toend-of-life. This may cause the volatile memory-based component to loseany data stored within. Alternatively, or additionally, the device maybe erased manually or destroyed (e.g., if associated with a memoryspecification assigned a secret or top secret data privacy level).

In some examples, asset management system 104 may erase the data of eachmemory based component having at least a secret data privacy level toprevent data of the device from being leaked during recycling orrepurposing of the device. In another example, asset management system104 may cause a device to be flagged for destruction if at least onememory-based component has a top secret data privacy level.

FIG. 2 is an example of fields of a memory specification according tocertain embodiments of the present disclosure. Each memory specificationmay include one or more fields that include an identification of theassociated memory-based component and information associated with thememory-based component. In some instances, each memory specification maycorrespond to a particular memory-based component (e.g., identified by aserial number, or manufacturing lot identifier, etc.). In thoseinstances, a system may include a memory specification for eachmemory-based component multiple (nearly) identical instances of thememory-based component exist the system. For example, a first device mayinclude a first SSD and a second device may include an second SSD of asame model and specification as the first SSD. An asset managementsystem may generate a first memory specification associated with thefirst SSD and a second memory specification associated with the SSD eventhough the two memory specifications may be (nearly) identical. In otherinstances, a memory specification may correspond to devices of a sametype. In those instances returning to the previous example, a singlememory specification may be generated to represent the first SSD and thesecond SSD. The single memory specification may include additionalfields to capture information associated with individual instances ofeach device (e.g., unique serial numbers, content that may be stored ineach device, etc.).

A memory specification may include one or more fields that represent amemory-based component. The example memory specification shown includesa component identifier (e.g., a name, serial number, lot number, etc.),an indication of whether the memory-based component is removable fromthe device, an indication of whether the memory-based component includesvolatile and/or non-volatile memory, an indication of whether thememory-based component includes backup power (e.g., and if so the typeof backup power and/or location of the backup power), an indication of acapacity of the memory of the memory-based component, a physicallocation of the memory-based component relative to the device, anindication of whether the memory-based component stores user data, anindication of the content stored in the memory-based component, and anassigned privacy level of memory specification. Each memoryspecification may include more or less fields than those shown in FIG. 2.

As previously described, an asset management system may receive a firstmemory specification for a first memory-based component from the devicethat includes the memory-based component. The asset management systemmay receive a second memory specification that corresponds to thememory-based component from a SoV database. The second specification mayhave been received from a manufacturer of the memory-based device (orfrom a SoV database, which stores the memory specification once receivedfrom the manufacturer). In some instances, the first memoryspecification and the second memory specification may be identical. Inthat instance, the asset management system may store a third memoryspecification (e.g., the first memory specification, the second memoryspecification, a new memory specification that includes each of thefields of the first memory specification or second memoryspecification).

In other instances, the first memory specification and the second memoryspecification may be different. In those instances, the asset managementsystem may reconcile the differences between the first memoryspecification and the second memory specification. For example, theasset management system may generate a third memory specification thatincludes each unique field in the first memory specification and thesecond memory specification with the values of each field empty. Theasset management system may then compare the values of each field in onememory specification with the values of the corresponding field in theother memory specification. If the value of a field of the first memoryspecification matches the value of the corresponding field of the secondmemory specification, then that value is written to the correspondingfield of the third memory specification. If the value of a field of thefirst memory specification does not match the value of the correspondingfield of the second memory specification, then the asset managementsystem may select the value of the field first memory specification orthe value of the corresponding field in the second memory specification(e.g., based on user input, a set of rules, etc.). If a field of thefirst memory specification does not have a matching field in the secondmemory specification, then the value for that field of the first memoryspecification is written to the corresponding field of the third memoryspecification. If a field of the second memory specification does nothave a matching field in the first memory specification, then the valuefor that field of the second memory specification is written to thecorresponding field of the third memory specification. The resultingthird memory specification, may include the data from both the firstmemory specification and the second memory specification with anyconflicting values or fields reconciled by the asset management system.

FIG. 3 is an example flowchart of a process for tracing memory by anasset management system according to certain aspects of the presentdisclosure. At block 304, a computing device (e.g., such as assetmanagement system 104, or the like) transmits a memory identificationcommand to a new device. In some instances, the memory identificationcommand may be transmitted in response to the new device being connectedto a same system (e.g., data center, network, cloud network, etc.) asthe computing device. In other instances, the memory identificationcommand may be transmitted in response to receiving an identification ofthe new device (e.g., from a client device, server, etc.).

At block 308, the computing device receives a first set of memoryspecifications from the new device. Each memory specification of thefirst set of memory specifications may identify a component (e.g., suchas a memory-based component) of the new device that is configured tostore data. Each memory specification may include one or more fieldsthat include an identification of the component and informationassociated with the component. The memory specification may include oneor more of the fields as previously described.

At block 312, a second set of memory specifications may be received froma remote device (e.g., a database, a server, client device, etc.). Eachmemory specification of the second set of memory specifications mayidentify a component of the new device that is configured to store data.

At block 316, the computing device generates, based on a comparison ofthe first set of memory specifications to the second set of memoryspecifications, a memory-asset data structure that stores a third set ofmemory specifications, each memory specification of the third set ofmemory specifications being a memory specification that is in both thefirst set of memory specifications and the second set of memoryspecifications. In some instances, each memory specification of thefirst set of memory specifications may match a corresponding memoryspecification of the second set of memory specifications. In thoseinstances, the third set of memory specifications may be equal to thefirst set of memory specifications and the second set of memoryspecifications.

In other instances, some memory specifications of the first set ofmemory specifications may not match corresponding memory specificationsof the second set of memory specifications. In those instances, thecomputing device may flag each memory specification that that is in thefirst set of memory specifications and not in the second set of memoryspecifications and each memory specification of the second set of memoryspecifications that is not in the first set of memory specifications.The computing device may then reconcile those memory specifications(e.g., determine whether those memory specifications or the fieldstherein are to be included in the third set of memory specifications aspreviously described in connection to FIG. 2 ) and determine whichmemory specifications are to be added to the third set of memoryspecifications.

The computing device may then compare each memory specifications of thefirst set of memory specifications that has a corresponding memoryspecification in the second memory specification (e.g., as described inconnection to FIG. 2 ). For example, if a memory specification of thefirst set of memory specifications matches a corresponding memoryspecification in second set of memory specifications, then that memoryspecification is stored in the third set of memory specifications. If amemory specification of the first set of memory specifications does notmatch a corresponding memory specification in second set of memoryspecifications, then a new memory specification is generated thatincludes values of fields of the memory specification from the firstmemory specification and of the memory specification from the secondmemory specification. (e.g., as determined by the computing device, userinput, and/or as previously described). The new memory specification beadded to the third set of memory specifications. If a memoryspecification of the second set of memory specifications does not matcha corresponding memory specification in the first set of memoryspecifications, then a new memory specification is generated thatincludes values of fields of the memory specification from the firstmemory specification and of the memory specification from the secondmemory specification (e.g., as determined by the computing device, userinput, and/or as previously described).

At block 320, the computing device may assign, to each of one or morememory specifications of the third set of memory specifications, a dataprivacy level that is based on a sensitivity of data stored in thecomponent of the new device identified by the memory specification. Thecomputing device may retrieve a policy that can be applied to the thirdset of memory specifications (e.g., from a database such as policydatabase 128, a server, or the like). The policy may include a set ofrules that assign a data privacy level based on fields of a memoryspecification. For example, a rule may determine a data privacy levelbased on a content field (e.g., the field identifying the content thatis stored or will be stored in the memory-based device represented bythe memory specification) as previously described in Table 1. Rules maybe used determine a data privacy based on multiple fields. For example,a rule may determine a data privacy level based on the content field andthe removable field may (e.g., the ability to remove memory-basedcomponents may cause a higher data privacy due to the ease in which thememory-based component can be transferred or stolen. In some instances,the data privacy level may include one or more categories (e.g.,public/secret/top secret, low/medium/high, etc.). In other instances thedata privacy level may be represented as a percentage, an integer, areal number, or any other mechanism that indicates a relativesensitivity of data and/or risk of the data being leaked or stolen.

At block 324, the computing device transmits the memory-asset datastructure to a memory-based component connected to the computing device.In some instance, the computing device may transmit the memory-assetdata structure to local storage (e.g., a memory-based component of thecomputing device). In other instances, the memory-asset data structuremay be transmitted to remote storage (e.g., a memory-based componentsuch as external storage, a database, etc. that is connected to thecomputing device via a wired or wireless communication protocol). Instill yet other instances, the memory-asset data structure may betransmitted to a memory-based component of another device (e.g., aserver, another computing device, a client device, etc. connected to thecomputing device via a wired or wireless communication protocol).

In some examples, the computing device may receive an indication of anoperational change in a device (e.g., such as the new device). Thecomputing device may retrieve the memory-asset data structure anddetermine one or more operations to perform based on the operationalchange and a data privacy level assigned to one or more memoryspecifications associated with the device. For example, the operationalchange may correspond to an end-of-life of the device or a memory-basedcomponent therein. The computing device may then determine that a memoryspecification associated with the device are assigned a top secrete dataprivacy level. The computing device may then execute operations thatcause the memory-based components represented by memory specificationshaving a top secret data privacy level to be destroyed and/or the deviceitself to be destroyed. This may prevent memory-based components withsensitive user data from being recycled into new devices where thesensitive user data may be leak to the new users of the device. In someinstances, memory-based components represented by memory specificationsassigned top secret data privacy levels may be destroyed to preventaccidental leaking of user data, data usable to access user data (e.g.,user keys, credentials, logs, etc.), or data usable to compromise systemsecurity (e.g., firmware, error logs, etc.), combinations thereof, orthe like. The one or more operations may determine how the device may beremoved from system managed by the computing device (e.g., erased,recycled, repurposed, remanufacture red, destroyed, etc.).

FIG. 4 depicts an example flowchart of a process for modifying memoryspecifications by an asset management system according to certainaspects of the present disclosure. At block 404, a computing device(e.g., computing device 104) may receive input indicating a change to aset of memory specifications. The input may include an identification ofthe set of memory specifications (e.g., referred to as a statement ofvolatility or SoV) and indication as to the change to the set of memoryspecifications. The change may include one or more new memoryspecifications, one or more memory specifications to be deleted, and/orone or more memory specifications to me modified (e.g., a change in oneor more fields of a memory specification). The set of memoryspecifications may correspond to memory-based components of devices(e.g., such as devices 120) some of which being connected to a system(e.g., such as system 100) managed by the computing device. The changeto the set of memory specifications may be received form a clientdevice, a manufacturer of the device, a previous owner of the device, anoperator of the device, etc.

At block 408, the computing device may identify of a list of devicesthat may be affected by the change to the set of memory specifications.For example, the computing device includes a memory-asset data structurethat tracks memory-based components of devices of the system. Eachmemory-based component may be represented by memory specification.Changes to the memory specifications may change how the computing devicemanages devices or memory-based components therein of the system. Forexample, a change to memory specification may indicate that amemory-based components now stores user credential, which may cause thecomputing device to manage the operations affecting the memory-basedcomponent to prevent unauthorized distribution or access to the contentsof the memory-based component.

At block 412, the modification to the set of memory specifications maybe implemented within a database storing sets of memory specifications(e.g., SoV database 124). For example, the modified memoryspecifications may be stored in the database (e.g., replacing theunmodified versions of the memory specifications). Alternatively, thecomputing device may define, for each modified memory specification, thedelta (e.g., the difference between the unmodified memory specificationand the modified memory specification) may be used to update theunmodified memory specifications to the modified memory specification.The process of merging memory specifications may be performed aspreviously described in FIG. 2 .

At block 416, the computing device may update the memory-asset datastructure based on the changes to the set of memory specifications. Thememory-asset data structure may include memory specifications thatrepresent each memory-based component of devices in the system (e.g., asubset of the memory specifications stored in the database). The updatesto the set of memory specifications may be applied the memoryspecifications of the memory-asset data structure.

At block 420, the computing device may receive a policy from a policydatabase (e.g. such as policy database 128). The computing device mayreceive the policy in response to a request by the computing device forthe policy. In some instances, the computing device may request a policybased on the updated memory specifications. In other instances, thecomputing device may request general policy (e.g., applicable to thememory specifications of the memory-asset data structure.

At block 428, the computing device may apply the policy to the updatedmemory specifications in the memory-asset data structure. The policy maybe used to determine a data privacy level for each updated memoryspecification included in the memory-asset data structure. The policymay be applied as previously described.

As noted above, infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is one particulartype of cloud computing. IaaS can be configured to provide virtualizedcomputing resources over a public network (e.g., the Internet). In anIaaS model, a cloud computing provider can host the infrastructurecomponents (e.g., servers, storage devices, network nodes (e.g.,hardware), deployment software, platform virtualization (e.g., ahypervisor layer), or the like). In some cases, an IaaS provider mayalso supply a variety of services to accompany those infrastructurecomponents (e.g., billing, monitoring, logging, security, load balancingand clustering, etc.). Thus, as these services may be policy-driven,IaaS users may be able to implement policies to drive load balancing tomaintain application availability and performance.

In some instances, IaaS customers may access resources and servicesthrough a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, and can use thecloud provider's services to install the remaining elements of anapplication stack. For example, the user can log in to the IaaS platformto create virtual machines (VMs), install operating systems (OSs) oneach VM, deploy middleware such as databases, create storage buckets forworkloads and backups, and even install enterprise software into thatVM. Customers can then use the provider's services to perform variousfunctions, including balancing network traffic, troubleshootingapplication issues, monitoring performance, managing disaster recovery,etc.

In most cases, a cloud computing model will require the participation ofa cloud provider. The cloud provider may, but need not be, a third-partyservice that specializes in providing (e.g., offering, renting, selling)IaaS. An entity might also opt to deploy a private cloud, becoming itsown provider of infrastructure services.

In some examples, IaaS deployment is the process of putting a newapplication, or a new version of an application, onto a preparedapplication server or the like. It may also include the process ofpreparing the server (e.g., installing libraries, daemons, etc.). Thisis often managed by the cloud provider, below the hypervisor layer(e.g., the servers, storage, network hardware, and virtualization).Thus, the customer may be responsible for handling (OS), middleware,and/or application deployment (e.g., on self-service virtual machines(e.g., that can be spun up on demand) or the like.

In some examples, IaaS provisioning may refer to acquiring computers orvirtual hosts for use, and even installing needed libraries or serviceson them. In most cases, deployment does not include provisioning, andthe provisioning may need to be performed first.

In some cases, there are two different problems for IaaS provisioning.First, there is the initial challenge of provisioning the initial set ofinfrastructure before anything is running. Second, there is thechallenge of evolving the existing infrastructure (e.g., adding newservices, changing services, removing services, etc.) once everythinghas been provisioned. In some cases, these two challenges may beaddressed by enabling the configuration of the infrastructure to bedefined declaratively. In other words, the infrastructure (e.g., whatcomponents are needed and how they interact) can be defined by one ormore configuration files. Thus, the overall topology of theinfrastructure (e.g., what resources depend on which, and how they eachwork together) can be described declaratively. In some instances, oncethe topology is defined, a workflow can be generated that creates and/ormanages the different components described in the configuration files.

In some examples, an infrastructure may have many interconnectedelements. For example, there may be one or more virtual private clouds(VPCs) (e.g., a potentially on-demand pool of configurable and/or sharedcomputing resources), also known as a core network. In some examples,there may also be one or more security group rules provisioned to definehow the security of the network will be set up and one or more virtualmachines (VMs). Other infrastructure elements may also be provisioned,such as a load balancer, a database, or the like. As more and moreinfrastructure elements are desired and/or added, the infrastructure mayincrementally evolve.

In some instances, continuous deployment techniques may be employed toenable deployment of infrastructure code across various virtualcomputing environments. Additionally, the described techniques canenable infrastructure management within these environments. In someexamples, service teams can write code that is desired to be deployed toone or more, but often many, different production environments (e.g.,across various different geographic locations, sometimes spanning theentire world). However, in some examples, the infrastructure on whichthe code will be deployed must first be set up. In some instances, theprovisioning can be done manually, a provisioning tool may be utilizedto provision the resources, and/or deployment tools may be utilized todeploy the code once the infrastructure is provisioned.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram 500 illustrating an example pattern of an IaaSarchitecture, according to at least one embodiment. Service operators502 can be communicatively coupled to a secure host tenancy 504 that caninclude a virtual cloud network (VCN) 506 and a secure host subnet 508.In some examples, the service operators 502 may be using one or moreclient computing devices, which may be portable handheld devices (e.g.,an iPhone®, cellular telephone, an iPad®, computing tablet, a personaldigital assistant (PDA)) or wearable devices (e.g., a Google Glass® headmounted display), running software such as Microsoft Windows Mobile®,and/or a variety of mobile operating systems such as iOS, Windows Phone,Android, BlackBerry 8, Palm OS, and the like, and being Internet,e-mail, short message service (SMS), Blackberry®, or other communicationprotocol enabled. Alternatively, the client computing devices can begeneral purpose personal computers including, by way of example,personal computers and/or laptop computers running various versions ofMicrosoft Windows®, Apple Macintosh®, and/or Linux operating systems.The client computing devices can be workstation computers running any ofa variety of commercially-available UNIX® or UNIX-like operatingsystems, including without limitation the variety of GNU/Linux operatingsystems, such as for example, Google Chrome OS. Alternatively, or inaddition, client computing devices may be any other electronic device,such as a thin-client computer, an Internet-enabled gaming system (e.g.,a Microsoft Xbox gaming console with or without a Kinect® gesture inputdevice), and/or a personal messaging device, capable of communicatingover a network that can access the VCN 506 and/or the Internet.

The VCN 506 can include a local peering gateway (LPG) 510 that can becommunicatively coupled to a secure shell (SSH) VCN 512 via an LPG 510contained in the SSH VCN 512. The SSH VCN 512 can include an SSH subnet514, and the SSH VCN 512 can be communicatively coupled to a controlplane VCN 516 via the LPG 510 contained in the control plane VCN 516.Also, the SSH VCN 512 can be communicatively coupled to a data plane VCN518 via an LPG 510. The control plane VCN 516 and the data plane VCN 518can be contained in a service tenancy 519 that can be owned and/oroperated by the IaaS provider.

The control plane VCN 516 can include a control plane demilitarized zone(DMZ) tier 520 that acts as a perimeter network (e.g., portions of acorporate network between the corporate intranet and external networks).The DMZ-based servers may have restricted responsibilities and help keepsecurity breaches contained. Additionally, the DMZ tier 520 can includeone or more load balancer (LB) subnet(s) 522, a control plane app tier524 that can include app subnet(s) 526, a control plane data tier 528that can include database (DB) subnet(s) 530 (e.g., frontend DBsubnet(s) and/or backend DB subnet(s)). The LB subnet(s) 522 containedin the control plane DMZ tier 520 can be communicatively coupled to theapp subnet(s) 526 contained in the control plane app tier 524 and anInternet gateway 534 that can be contained in the control plane VCN 516,and the app subnet(s) 526 can be communicatively coupled to the DBsubnet(s) 530 contained in the control plane data tier 528 and a servicegateway 536 and a network address translation (NAT) gateway 538. Thecontrol plane VCN 516 can include the service gateway 536 and the NATgateway 538.

The control plane VCN 516 can include a data plane mirror app tier 540that can include app subnet(s) 526. The app subnet(s) 526 contained inthe data plane mirror app tier 540 can include a virtual networkinterface controller (VNIC) 542 that can execute a compute instance 544.The compute instance 544 can communicatively couple the app subnet(s)526 of the data plane mirror app tier 540 to app subnet(s) 526 that canbe contained in a data plane app tier 546.

The data plane VCN 518 can include the data plane app tier 546, a dataplane DMZ tier 548, and a data plane data tier 550. The data plane DMZtier 548 can include LB subnet(s) 522 that can be communicativelycoupled to the app subnet(s) 526 of the data plane app tier 546 and theInternet gateway 534 of the data plane VCN 518. The app subnet(s) 526can be communicatively coupled to the service gateway 536 of the dataplane VCN 518 and the NAT gateway 538 of the data plane VCN 518. Thedata plane data tier 550 can also include the DB subnet(s) 530 that canbe communicatively coupled to the app subnet(s) 526 of the data planeapp tier 546.

The Internet gateway 534 of the control plane VCN 516 and of the dataplane VCN 518 can be communicatively coupled to a metadata managementservice 552 that can be communicatively coupled to public Internet 554.Public Internet 554 can be communicatively coupled to the NAT gateway538 of the control plane VCN 516 and of the data plane VCN 518. Theservice gateway 536 of the control plane VCN 516 and of the data planeVCN 518 can be communicatively couple to cloud services 556.

In some examples, the service gateway 536 of the control plane VCN 516or of the data plane VCN 518 can make application programming interface(API) calls to cloud services 556 without going through public Internet554. The API calls to cloud services 556 from the service gateway 536can be one-way: the service gateway 536 can make API calls to cloudservices 556, and cloud services 556 can send requested data to theservice gateway 536. But, cloud services 556 may not initiate API callsto the service gateway 536.

In some examples, the secure host tenancy 504 can be directly connectedto the service tenancy 519, which may be otherwise isolated. The securehost subnet 508 can communicate with the SSH subnet 514 through an LPG510 that may enable two-way communication over an otherwise isolatedsystem. Connecting the secure host subnet 508 to the SSH subnet 514 maygive the secure host subnet 508 access to other entities within theservice tenancy 519.

The control plane VCN 516 may allow users of the service tenancy 519 toset up or otherwise provision desired resources. Desired resourcesprovisioned in the control plane VCN 516 may be deployed or otherwiseused in the data plane VCN 518. In some examples, the control plane VCN516 can be isolated from the data plane VCN 518, and the data planemirror app tier 540 of the control plane VCN 516 can communicate withthe data plane app tier 546 of the data plane VCN 518 via VNICs 542 thatcan be contained in the data plane mirror app tier 540 and the dataplane app tier 546.

In some examples, users of the system, or customers, can make requests,for example create, read, update, or delete (CRUD) operations, throughpublic Internet 554 that can communicate the requests to the metadatamanagement service 552. The metadata management service 552 cancommunicate the request to the control plane VCN 516 through theInternet gateway 534. The request can be received by the LB subnet(s)522 contained in the control plane DMZ tier 520. The LB subnet(s) 522may determine that the request is valid, and in response to thisdetermination, the LB subnet(s) 522 can transmit the request to appsubnet(s) 526 contained in the control plane app tier 524. If therequest is validated and requires a call to public Internet 554, thecall to public Internet 554 may be transmitted to the NAT gateway 538that can make the call to public Internet 554. Memory that may bedesired to be stored by the request can be stored in the DB subnet(s)530.

In some examples, the data plane mirror app tier 540 can facilitatedirect communication between the control plane VCN 516 and the dataplane VCN 518. For example, changes, updates, or other suitablemodifications to configuration may be desired to be applied to theresources contained in the data plane VCN 518. Via a VNIC 542, thecontrol plane VCN 516 can directly communicate with, and can therebyexecute the changes, updates, or other suitable modifications toconfiguration to, resources contained in the data plane VCN 518.

In some embodiments, the control plane VCN 516 and the data plane VCN518 can be contained in the service tenancy 519. In this case, the user,or the customer, of the system may not own or operate either the controlplane VCN 516 or the data plane VCN 518. Instead, the IaaS provider mayown or operate the control plane VCN 516 and the data plane VCN 518,both of which may be contained in the service tenancy 519. Thisembodiment can enable isolation of networks that may prevent users orcustomers from interacting with other users', or other customers',resources. Also, this embodiment may allow users or customers of thesystem to store databases privately without needing to rely on publicInternet 554, which may not have a desired level of security, forstorage.

In other embodiments, the LB subnet(s) 522 contained in the controlplane VCN 516 can be configured to receive a signal from the servicegateway 536. In this embodiment, the control plane VCN 516 and the dataplane VCN 518 may be configured to be called by a customer of the IaaSprovider without calling public Internet 554. Customers of the IaaSprovider may desire this embodiment since database(s) that the customersuse may be controlled by the IaaS provider and may be stored on theservice tenancy 519, which may be isolated from public Internet 554.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram 600 illustrating another example pattern of anIaaS architecture, according to at least one embodiment. Serviceoperators 602 (e.g. service operators 502 of FIG. 5 ) can becommunicatively coupled to a secure host tenancy 604 (e.g. the securehost tenancy 504 of FIG. 5 ) that can include a virtual cloud network(VCN) 606 (e.g. the VCN 506 of FIG. 5 ) and a secure host subnet 608(e.g. the secure host subnet 508 of FIG. 5 ). The VCN 606 can include alocal peering gateway (LPG) 610 (e.g. the LPG 510 of FIG. 5 ) that canbe communicatively coupled to a secure shell (SSH) VCN 612 (e.g. the SSHVCN 512 of FIG. 5 ) via an LPG 510 contained in the SSH VCN 612. The SSHVCN 612 can include an SSH subnet 614 (e.g. the SSH subnet 514 of FIG. 5), and the SSH VCN 612 can be communicatively coupled to a control planeVCN 616 (e.g. the control plane VCN 516 of FIG. 5 ) via an LPG 610contained in the control plane VCN 616. The control plane VCN 616 can becontained in a service tenancy 619 (e.g. the service tenancy 519 of FIG.5 ), and the data plane VCN 618 (e.g. the data plane VCN 518 of FIG. 5 )can be contained in a customer tenancy 621 that may be owned or operatedby users, or customers, of the system.

The control plane VCN 616 can include a control plane DMZ tier 620 (e.g.the control plane DMZ tier 520 of FIG. 5 ) that can include LB subnet(s)622 (e.g. LB subnet(s) 522 of FIG. 5 ), a control plane app tier 624(e.g. the control plane app tier 524 of FIG. 5 ) that can include appsubnet(s) 626 (e.g. app subnet(s) 526 of FIG. 5 ), a control plane datatier 628 (e.g. the control plane data tier 528 of FIG. 5 ) that caninclude database (DB) subnet(s) 630 (e.g. similar to DB subnet(s) 530 ofFIG. 5 ). The LB subnet(s) 622 contained in the control plane DMZ tier620 can be communicatively coupled to the app subnet(s) 626 contained inthe control plane app tier 624 and an Internet gateway 634 (e.g. theInternet gateway 534 of FIG. 5 ) that can be contained in the controlplane VCN 616, and the app subnet(s) 626 can be communicatively coupledto the DB subnet(s) 630 contained in the control plane data tier 628 anda service gateway 636 (e.g. the service gateway of FIG. 5 ) and anetwork address translation (NAT) gateway 638 (e.g. the NAT gateway 538of FIG. 5 ). The control plane VCN 616 can include the service gateway636 and the NAT gateway 638.

The control plane VCN 616 can include a data plane mirror app tier 640(e.g. the data plane mirror app tier 540 of FIG. 5 ) that can includeapp subnet(s) 626. The app subnet(s) 626 contained in the data planemirror app tier 640 can include a virtual network interface controller(VNIC) 642 (e.g. the VNIC of 542) that can execute a compute instance644 (e.g. similar to the compute instance 544 of FIG. 5 ). The computeinstance 644 can facilitate communication between the app subnet(s) 626of the data plane mirror app tier 640 and the app subnet(s) 626 that canbe contained in a data plane app tier 646 (e.g. the data plane app tier546 of FIG. 5 ) via the VNIC 642 contained in the data plane mirror apptier 640 and the VNIC 642 contained in the data plane app tier 646.

The Internet gateway 634 contained in the control plane VCN 616 can becommunicatively coupled to a metadata management service 652 (e.g. themetadata management service 552 of FIG. 5 ) that can be communicativelycoupled to public Internet 654 (e.g. public Internet 554 of FIG. 5 ).Public Internet 654 can be communicatively coupled to the NAT gateway638 contained in the control plane VCN 616. The service gateway 636contained in the control plane VCN 616 can be communicatively couple tocloud services 656 (e.g. cloud services 556 of FIG. 5 ).

In some examples, the data plane VCN 618 can be contained in thecustomer tenancy 621. In this case, the IaaS provider may provide thecontrol plane VCN 616 for each customer, and the IaaS provider may, foreach customer, set up a unique compute instance 644 that is contained inthe service tenancy 619. Each compute instance 644 may allowcommunication between the control plane VCN 616, contained in theservice tenancy 619, and the data plane VCN 618 that is contained in thecustomer tenancy 621. The compute instance 644 may allow resources, thatare provisioned in the control plane VCN 616 that is contained in theservice tenancy 619, to be deployed or otherwise used in the data planeVCN 618 that is contained in the customer tenancy 621.

In other examples, the customer of the IaaS provider may have databasesthat live in the customer tenancy 621. In this example, the controlplane VCN 616 can include the data plane mirror app tier 640 that caninclude app subnet(s) 626. The data plane mirror app tier 640 can residein the data plane VCN 618, but the data plane mirror app tier 640 maynot live in the data plane VCN 618. That is, the data plane mirror apptier 640 may have access to the customer tenancy 621, but the data planemirror app tier 640 may not exist in the data plane VCN 618 or be ownedor operated by the customer of the IaaS provider. The data plane mirrorapp tier 640 may be configured to make calls to the data plane VCN 618but may not be configured to make calls to any entity contained in thecontrol plane VCN 616. The customer may desire to deploy or otherwiseuse resources in the data plane VCN 618 that are provisioned in thecontrol plane VCN 616, and the data plane mirror app tier 640 canfacilitate the desired deployment, or other usage of resources, of thecustomer.

In some embodiments, the customer of the IaaS provider can apply filtersto the data plane VCN 618. In this embodiment, the customer candetermine what the data plane VCN 618 can access, and the customer mayrestrict access to public Internet 654 from the data plane VCN 618. TheIaaS provider may not be able to apply filters or otherwise controlaccess of the data plane VCN 618 to any outside networks or databases.Applying filters and controls by the customer onto the data plane VCN618, contained in the customer tenancy 621, can help isolate the dataplane VCN 618 from other customers and from public Internet 654.

In some embodiments, cloud services 656 can be called by the servicegateway 636 to access services that may not exist on public Internet654, on the control plane VCN 616, or on the data plane VCN 618. Theconnection between cloud services 656 and the control plane VCN 616 orthe data plane VCN 618 may not be live or continuous. Cloud services 656may exist on a different network owned or operated by the IaaS provider.Cloud services 656 may be configured to receive calls from the servicegateway 636 and may be configured to not receive calls from publicInternet 654. Some cloud services 656 may be isolated from other cloudservices 656, and the control plane VCN 616 may be isolated from cloudservices 656 that may not be in the same region as the control plane VCN616. For example, the control plane VCN 616 may be located in “Region1,” and cloud service “Deployment 5,” may be located in Region 1 and in“Region 2.” If a call to Deployment 5 is made by the service gateway 636contained in the control plane VCN 616 located in Region 1, the call maybe transmitted to Deployment 5 in Region 1. In this example, the controlplane VCN 616, or Deployment 5 in Region 1, may not be communicativelycoupled to, or otherwise in communication with, Deployment 5 in Region2.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram 700 illustrating another example pattern of anIaaS architecture, according to at least one embodiment. Serviceoperators 702 (e.g. service operators 502 of FIG. 5 ) can becommunicatively coupled to a secure host tenancy 704 (e.g. the securehost tenancy 504 of FIG. 5 ) that can include a virtual cloud network(VCN) 706 (e.g. the VCN 506 of FIG. 5 ) and a secure host subnet 708(e.g. the secure host subnet 508 of FIG. 5 ). The VCN 706 can include anLPG 710 (e.g. the LPG 510 of FIG. 5 ) that can be communicativelycoupled to an SSH VCN 712 (e.g. the SSH VCN 512 of FIG. 5 ) via an LPG710 contained in the SSH VCN 712. The SSH VCN 712 can include an SSHsubnet 714 (e.g. the SSH subnet 514 of FIG. 5 ), and the SSH VCN 712 canbe communicatively coupled to a control plane VCN 716 (e.g. the controlplane VCN 516 of FIG. 5 ) via an LPG 710 contained in the control planeVCN 716 and to a data plane VCN 718 (e.g. the data plane 518 of FIG. 5 )via an LPG 710 contained in the data plane VCN 718. The control planeVCN 716 and the data plane VCN 718 can be contained in a service tenancy719 (e.g. the service tenancy 519 of FIG. 5 ).

The control plane VCN 716 can include a control plane DMZ tier 720 (e.g.the control plane DMZ tier 520 of FIG. 5 ) that can include loadbalancer (LB) subnet(s) 722 (e.g. LB subnet(s) 522 of FIG. 5 ), acontrol plane app tier 724 (e.g. the control plane app tier 524 of FIG.5 ) that can include app subnet(s) 726 (e.g. similar to app subnet(s)526 of FIG. 5 ), a control plane data tier 728 (e.g. the control planedata tier 528 of FIG. 5 ) that can include DB subnet(s) 730. The LBsubnet(s) 722 contained in the control plane DMZ tier 720 can becommunicatively coupled to the app subnet(s) 726 contained in thecontrol plane app tier 724 and to an Internet gateway 734 (e.g. theInternet gateway 534 of FIG. 5 ) that can be contained in the controlplane VCN 716, and the app subnet(s) 726 can be communicatively coupledto the DB subnet(s) 730 contained in the control plane data tier 728 andto a service gateway 736 (e.g. the service gateway of FIG. 5 ) and anetwork address translation (NAT) gateway 738 (e.g. the NAT gateway 538of FIG. 5 ). The control plane VCN 716 can include the service gateway736 and the NAT gateway 738.

The data plane VCN 718 can include a data plane app tier 746 (e.g. thedata plane app tier 546 of FIG. 5 ), a data plane DMZ tier 748 (e.g. thedata plane DMZ tier 548 of FIG. 5 ), and a data plane data tier 750(e.g. the data plane data tier 550 of FIG. 5 ). The data plane DMZ tier748 can include LB subnet(s) 722 that can be communicatively coupled totrusted app subnet(s) 760 and untrusted app subnet(s) 762 of the dataplane app tier 746 and the Internet gateway 734 contained in the dataplane VCN 718. The trusted app subnet(s) 760 can be communicativelycoupled to the service gateway 736 contained in the data plane VCN 718,the NAT gateway 738 contained in the data plane VCN 718, and DBsubnet(s) 730 contained in the data plane data tier 750. The untrustedapp subnet(s) 762 can be communicatively coupled to the service gateway736 contained in the data plane VCN 718 and DB subnet(s) 730 containedin the data plane data tier 750. The data plane data tier 750 caninclude DB subnet(s) 730 that can be communicatively coupled to theservice gateway 736 contained in the data plane VCN 718.

The untrusted app subnet(s) 762 can include one or more primary VNICs764(1)-(N) that can be communicatively coupled to tenant virtualmachines (VMs) 766(1)-(N). Each tenant VM 766(1)-(N) can becommunicatively coupled to a respective app subnet 767(1)-(N) that canbe contained in respective container egress VCNs 768(1)-(N) that can becontained in respective customer tenancies 770(1)-(N). Respectivesecondary VNICs 772(1)-(N) can facilitate communication between theuntrusted app subnet(s) 762 contained in the data plane VCN 718 and theapp subnet contained in the container egress VCNs 768(1)-(N). Eachcontainer egress VCNs 768(1)-(N) can include a NAT gateway 738 that canbe communicatively coupled to public Internet 754 (e.g. public Internet554 of FIG. 5 ).

The Internet gateway 734 contained in the control plane VCN 716 andcontained in the data plane VCN 718 can be communicatively coupled to ametadata management service 752 (e.g. the metadata management system 552of FIG. 5 ) that can be communicatively coupled to public Internet 754.Public Internet 754 can be communicatively coupled to the NAT gateway738 contained in the control plane VCN 716 and contained in the dataplane VCN 718. The service gateway 736 contained in the control planeVCN 716 and contained in the data plane VCN 718 can be communicativelycouple to cloud services 756.

In some embodiments, the data plane VCN 718 can be integrated withcustomer tenancies 770. This integration can be useful or desirable forcustomers of the IaaS provider in some cases such as a case that maydesire support when executing code. The customer may provide code to runthat may be destructive, may communicate with other customer resources,or may otherwise cause undesirable effects. In response to this, theIaaS provider may determine whether to run code given to the IaaSprovider by the customer.

In some examples, the customer of the IaaS provider may grant temporarynetwork access to the IaaS provider and request a function to beattached to the data plane tier app 746. Code to run the function may beexecuted in the VMs 766(1)-(N), and the code may not be configured torun anywhere else on the data plane VCN 718. Each VM 766(1)-(N) may beconnected to one customer tenancy 770. Respective containers 771(1)-(N)contained in the VMs 766(1)-(N) may be configured to run the code. Inthis case, there can be a dual isolation (e.g., the containers771(1)-(N) running code, where the containers 771(1)-(N) may becontained in at least the VM 766(1)-(N) that are contained in theuntrusted app subnet(s) 762), which may help prevent incorrect orotherwise undesirable code from damaging the network of the IaaSprovider or from damaging a network of a different customer. Thecontainers 771(1)-(N) may be communicatively coupled to the customertenancy 770 and may be configured to transmit or receive data from thecustomer tenancy 770. The containers 771(1)-(N) may not be configured totransmit or receive data from any other entity in the data plane VCN718. Upon completion of running the code, the IaaS provider may kill orotherwise dispose of the containers 771(1)-(N).

In some embodiments, the trusted app subnet(s) 760 may run code that maybe owned or operated by the IaaS provider. In this embodiment, thetrusted app subnet(s) 760 may be communicatively coupled to the DBsubnet(s) 730 and be configured to execute CRUD operations in the DBsubnet(s) 730. The untrusted app subnet(s) 762 may be communicativelycoupled to the DB subnet(s) 730, but in this embodiment, the untrustedapp subnet(s) may be configured to execute read operations in the DBsubnet(s) 730. The containers 771(1)-(N) that can be contained in the VM766(1)-(N) of each customer and that may run code from the customer maynot be communicatively coupled with the DB subnet(s) 730.

In other embodiments, the control plane VCN 716 and the data plane VCN718 may not be directly communicatively coupled. In this embodiment,there may be no direct communication between the control plane VCN 716and the data plane VCN 718. However, communication can occur indirectlythrough at least one method. An LPG 710 may be established by the IaaSprovider that can facilitate communication between the control plane VCN716 and the data plane VCN 718. In another example, the control planeVCN 716 or the data plane VCN 718 can make a call to cloud services 756via the service gateway 736. For example, a call to cloud services 756from the control plane VCN 716 can include a request for a service thatcan communicate with the data plane VCN 718.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram 800 illustrating another example pattern of anIaaS architecture, according to at least one embodiment. Serviceoperators 802 (e.g. service operators 502 of FIG. 5 ) can becommunicatively coupled to a secure host tenancy 804 (e.g. the securehost tenancy 504 of FIG. 5 ) that can include a virtual cloud network(VCN) 806 (e.g. the VCN 506 of FIG. 5 ) and a secure host subnet 808(e.g. the secure host subnet 508 of FIG. 5 ). The VCN 806 can include anLPG 810 (e.g. the LPG 510 of FIG. 5 ) that can be communicativelycoupled to an SSH VCN 812 (e.g. the SSH VCN 512 of FIG. 5 ) via an LPG810 contained in the SSH VCN 812. The SSH VCN 812 can include an SSHsubnet 814 (e.g. the SSH subnet 514 of FIG. 5 ), and the SSH VCN 812 canbe communicatively coupled to a control plane VCN 816 (e.g. the controlplane VCN 516 of FIG. 5 ) via an LPG 810 contained in the control planeVCN 816 and to a data plane VCN 818 (e.g. the data plane 518 of FIG. 5 )via an LPG 810 contained in the data plane VCN 818. The control planeVCN 816 and the data plane VCN 818 can be contained in a service tenancy819 (e.g. the service tenancy 519 of FIG. 5 ).

The control plane VCN 816 can include a control plane DMZ tier 820 (e.g.the control plane DMZ tier 520 of FIG. 5 ) that can include LB subnet(s)822 (e.g. LB subnet(s) 522 of FIG. 5 ), a control plane app tier 824(e.g. the control plane app tier 524 of FIG. 5 ) that can include appsubnet(s) 826 (e.g. app subnet(s) 526 of FIG. 5 ), a control plane datatier 828 (e.g. the control plane data tier 528 of FIG. 5 ) that caninclude DB subnet(s) 830 (e.g. DB subnet(s) 730 of FIG. 7 ). The LBsubnet(s) 822 contained in the control plane DMZ tier 820 can becommunicatively coupled to the app subnet(s) 826 contained in thecontrol plane app tier 824 and to an Internet gateway 834 (e.g. theInternet gateway 534 of FIG. 5 ) that can be contained in the controlplane VCN 816, and the app subnet(s) 826 can be communicatively coupledto the DB subnet(s) 830 contained in the control plane data tier 828 andto a service gateway 836 (e.g. the service gateway of FIG. 5 ) and anetwork address translation (NAT) gateway 838 (e.g. the NAT gateway 538of FIG. 5 ). The control plane VCN 816 can include the service gateway836 and the NAT gateway 838.

The data plane VCN 818 can include a data plane app tier 846 (e.g. thedata plane app tier 546 of FIG. 5 ), a data plane DMZ tier 848 (e.g. thedata plane DMZ tier 548 of FIG. 5 ), and a data plane data tier 850(e.g. the data plane data tier 550 of FIG. 5 ). The data plane DMZ tier848 can include LB subnet(s) 822 that can be communicatively coupled totrusted app subnet(s) 860 (e.g. trusted app subnet(s) 760 of FIG. 7 )and untrusted app subnet(s) 862 (e.g. untrusted app subnet(s) 762 ofFIG. 7 ) of the data plane app tier 846 and the Internet gateway 834contained in the data plane VCN 818. The trusted app subnet(s) 860 canbe communicatively coupled to the service gateway 836 contained in thedata plane VCN 818, the NAT gateway 838 contained in the data plane VCN818, and DB subnet(s) 830 contained in the data plane data tier 850. Theuntrusted app subnet(s) 862 can be communicatively coupled to theservice gateway 836 contained in the data plane VCN 818 and DB subnet(s)830 contained in the data plane data tier 850. The data plane data tier850 can include DB subnet(s) 830 that can be communicatively coupled tothe service gateway 836 contained in the data plane VCN 818.

The untrusted app subnet(s) 862 can include primary VNICs 864(1)-(N)that can be communicatively coupled to tenant virtual machines (VMs)866(1)-(N) residing within the untrusted app subnet(s) 862. Each tenantVM 866(1)-(N) can run code in a respective container 867(1)-(N), and becommunicatively coupled to an app subnet 826 that can be contained in adata plane app tier 846 that can be contained in a container egress VCN868. Respective secondary VNICs 872(1)-(N) can facilitate communicationbetween the untrusted app subnet(s) 862 contained in the data plane VCN818 and the app subnet contained in the container egress VCN 868. Thecontainer egress VCN can include a NAT gateway 838 that can becommunicatively coupled to public Internet 854 (e.g. public Internet 554of FIG. 5 ).

The Internet gateway 834 contained in the control plane VCN 816 andcontained in the data plane VCN 818 can be communicatively coupled to ametadata management service 852 (e.g. the metadata management system 552of FIG. 5 ) that can be communicatively coupled to public Internet 854.Public Internet 854 can be communicatively coupled to the NAT gateway838 contained in the control plane VCN 816 and contained in the dataplane VCN 818. The service gateway 836 contained in the control planeVCN 816 and contained in the data plane VCN 818 can be communicativelycouple to cloud services 856.

In some examples, the pattern illustrated by the architecture of blockdiagram 800 of FIG. 8 may be considered an exception to the patternillustrated by the architecture of block diagram 700 of FIG. 7 and maybe desirable for a customer of the IaaS provider if the IaaS providercannot directly communicate with the customer (e.g., a disconnectedregion). The respective containers 867(1)-(N) that are contained in theVMs 866(1)-(N) for each customer can be accessed in real-time by thecustomer. The containers 867(1)-(N) may be configured to make calls torespective secondary VNICs 872(1)-(N) contained in app subnet(s) 826 ofthe data plane app tier 846 that can be contained in the containeregress VCN 868. The secondary VNICs 872(1)-(N) can transmit the calls tothe NAT gateway 838 that may transmit the calls to public Internet 854.In this example, the containers 867(1)-(N) that can be accessed inreal-time by the customer can be isolated from the control plane VCN 816and can be isolated from other entities contained in the data plane VCN818. The containers 867(1)-(N) may also be isolated from resources fromother customers.

In other examples, the customer can use the containers 867(1)-(N) tocall cloud services 856. In this example, the customer may run code inthe containers 867(1)-(N) that requests a service from cloud services856. The containers 867(1)-(N) can transmit this request to thesecondary VNICs 872(1)-(N) that can transmit the request to the NATgateway that can transmit the request to public Internet 854. PublicInternet 854 can transmit the request to LB subnet(s) 822 contained inthe control plane VCN 816 via the Internet gateway 834. In response todetermining the request is valid, the LB subnet(s) can transmit therequest to app subnet(s) 826 that can transmit the request to cloudservices 856 via the service gateway 836.

It should be appreciated that IaaS architectures 500, 600, 700, 800depicted in the figures may have other components than those depicted.Further, the embodiments shown in the figures are only some examples ofa cloud infrastructure system that may incorporate an embodiment of thedisclosure. In some other embodiments, the IaaS systems may have more orfewer components than shown in the figures, may combine two or morecomponents, or may have a different configuration or arrangement ofcomponents.

In certain embodiments, the IaaS systems described herein may include asuite of applications, middleware, and database service offerings thatare delivered to a customer in a self-service, subscription-based,elastically scalable, reliable, highly available, and secure manner. Anexample of such an IaaS system is the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)provided by the present assignee.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example computer system 900, in which variousembodiments may be implemented such as the client device described inconnection with FIGS. 1-4 . The system 900 may be used to implement anyof the computer systems described above. As shown in the figure,computer system 900 includes a processing unit 904 that communicateswith a number of peripheral subsystems via a bus subsystem 902. Theseperipheral subsystems may include a processing acceleration unit 906, anI/O subsystem 908, a storage subsystem 918 and a communicationssubsystem 924. Storage subsystem 918 includes tangible computer-readablestorage media 922 and a system memory 910.

Bus subsystem 902 provides a mechanism for letting the variouscomponents and subsystems of computer system 900 communicate with eachother as intended. Although bus subsystem 902 is shown schematically asa single bus, alternative embodiments of the bus subsystem may utilizemultiple buses. Bus subsystem 902 may be any of several types of busstructures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. Forexample, such architectures may include an Industry StandardArchitecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, EnhancedISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) localbus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, which can beimplemented as a Mezzanine bus manufactured to the IEEE P1386.1standard.

Processing unit 904, which can be implemented as one or more integratedcircuits (e.g., a conventional microprocessor or microcontroller),controls the operation of computer system 900. One or more processorsmay be included in processing unit 904. These processors may includesingle core or multicore processors. In certain embodiments, processingunit 904 may be implemented as one or more independent processing units932 and/or 934 with single or multicore processors included in eachprocessing unit. In other embodiments, processing unit 904 may also beimplemented as a quad-core processing unit formed by integrating twodual-core processors into a single chip.

In various embodiments, processing unit 904 can execute a variety ofprograms in response to program code and can maintain multipleconcurrently executing programs or processes. At any given time, some orall of the program code to be executed can be resident in processor(s)904 and/or in storage subsystem 918. Through suitable programming,processor(s) 904 can provide various functionalities described above.Computer system 900 may additionally include a processing accelerationunit 906, which can include a digital signal processor (DSP), aspecial-purpose processor, and/or the like.

I/O subsystem 908 may include user interface input devices and userinterface output devices. User interface input devices may include akeyboard, pointing devices such as a mouse or trackball, a touchpad ortouch screen incorporated into a display, a scroll wheel, a click wheel,a dial, a button, a switch, a keypad, audio input devices with voicecommand recognition systems, microphones, and other types of inputdevices. User interface input devices may include, for example, motionsensing and/or gesture recognition devices such as the Microsoft Kinect®motion sensor that enables users to control and interact with an inputdevice, such as the Microsoft Xbox® 360 game controller, through anatural user interface using gestures and spoken commands. Userinterface input devices may also include eye gesture recognition devicessuch as the Google Glass® blink detector that detects eye activity(e.g., ‘blinking’ while taking pictures and/or making a menu selection)from users and transforms the eye gestures as input into an input device(e.g., Google Glass®). Additionally, user interface input devices mayinclude voice recognition sensing devices that enable users to interactwith voice recognition systems (e.g., Siri® navigator), through voicecommands.

User interface input devices may also include, without limitation, threedimensional (3D) mice, joysticks or pointing sticks, gamepads andgraphic tablets, and audio/visual devices such as speakers, digitalcameras, digital camcorders, portable media players, webcams, imagescanners, fingerprint scanners, barcode reader 3D scanners, 3D printers,laser rangefinders, and eye gaze tracking devices. Additionally, userinterface input devices may include, for example, medical imaging inputdevices such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging,position emission tomography, medical ultrasonography devices. Userinterface input devices may also include, for example, audio inputdevices such as MIDI keyboards, digital musical instruments and thelike.

User interface output devices may include a display subsystem, indicatorlights, or non-visual displays such as audio output devices, etc. Thedisplay subsystem may be a cathode ray tube (CRT), a flat-panel device,such as that using a liquid crystal display (LCD) or plasma display, aprojection device, a touch screen, and the like. In general, use of theterm “output device” is intended to include all possible types ofdevices and mechanisms for outputting information from computer system900 to a user or other computer. For example, user interface outputdevices may include, without limitation, a variety of display devicesthat visually convey text, graphics and audio/video information such asmonitors, printers, speakers, headphones, automotive navigation systems,plotters, voice output devices, and modems.

Computer system 900 may comprise a storage subsystem 918 that comprisessoftware elements, shown as being currently located within a systemmemory 910. System memory 910 may store program instructions that areloadable and executable on processing unit 904, as well as datagenerated during the execution of these programs.

Depending on the configuration and type of computer system 900, systemmemory 910 may be volatile (such as random access memory (RAM)) and/ornon-volatile (such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.) TheRAM typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediatelyaccessible to and/or presently being operated and executed by processingunit 904. In some implementations, system memory 910 may includemultiple different types of memory, such as static random access memory(SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM). In some implementations,a basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines thathelp to transfer information between elements within computer system900, such as during start-up, may typically be stored in the ROM. By wayof example, and not limitation, system memory 910 also illustratesapplication programs 912, which may include client applications, Webbrowsers, mid-tier applications, relational database management systems(RDBMS), etc., program data 914, and an operating system 916. By way ofexample, operating system 916 may include various versions of MicrosoftWindows®, Apple Macintosh®, and/or Linux operating systems, a variety ofcommercially-available UNIX® or UNIX-like operating systems (includingwithout limitation the variety of GNU/Linux operating systems, theGoogle Chrome® OS, and the like) and/or mobile operating systems such asiOS, Windows® Phone, Android® OS, BlackBerry® 9 OS, and Palm® OSoperating systems.

Storage subsystem 918 may also provide a tangible computer-readablestorage medium for storing the basic programming and data constructsthat provide the functionality of some embodiments. Software (programs,code modules, instructions) that when executed by a processor providethe functionality described above may be stored in storage subsystem918. These software modules or instructions may be executed byprocessing unit 904. Storage subsystem 918 may also provide a repositoryfor storing data used in accordance with the present disclosure.

Storage subsystem 900 may also include a computer-readable storage mediareader 920 that can further be connected to computer-readable storagemedia 922. Together and, optionally, in combination with system memory910, computer-readable storage media 922 may comprehensively representremote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storagemedia for temporarily and/or more permanently containing, storing,transmitting, and retrieving computer-readable information.

Computer-readable storage media 922 containing code, or portions ofcode, can also include any appropriate media known or used in the art,including storage media and communication media, such as but not limitedto, volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmissionof information. This can include tangible computer-readable storagemedia such as RAM, ROM, electronically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disk (DVD), or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or other tangible computer readable media. This can also includenontangible computer-readable media, such as data signals, datatransmissions, or any other medium which can be used to transmit thedesired information and which can be accessed by computing system 900.

By way of example, computer-readable storage media 922 may include ahard disk drive that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatilemagnetic media, a magnetic disk drive that reads from or writes to aremovable, nonvolatile magnetic disk, and an optical disk drive thatreads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk such as aCD ROM, DVD, and Blu-Ray® disk, or other optical media.Computer-readable storage media 922 may include, but is not limited to,Zip® drives, flash memory cards, universal serial bus (USB) flashdrives, secure digital (SD) cards, DVD disks, digital video tape, andthe like. Computer-readable storage media 922 may also include,solid-state drives (SSD) based on non-volatile memory such asflash-memory based SSDs, enterprise flash drives, solid state ROM, andthe like, SSDs based on volatile memory such as solid state RAM, dynamicRAM, static RAM, DRAM-based SSDs, magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) SSDs, andhybrid SSDs that use a combination of DRAM and flash memory based SSDs.The disk drives and their associated computer-readable media may providenon-volatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules, and other data for computer system 900.

Communications subsystem 924 provides an interface to other computersystems and networks. Communications subsystem 924 serves as aninterface for receiving data from and transmitting data to other systemsfrom computer system 900. For example, communications subsystem 924 mayenable computer system 900 to connect to one or more devices via theInternet. In some embodiments communications subsystem 924 can includeradio frequency (RF) transceiver components for accessing wireless voiceand/or data networks (e.g., using cellular telephone technology,advanced data network technology, such as 3G, 4G or EDGE (enhanced datarates for global evolution), WiFi (IEEE 802.11 family standards, orother mobile communication technologies, or any combination thereof),global positioning system (GPS) receiver components, and/or othercomponents. In some embodiments communications subsystem 924 can providewired network connectivity (e.g., Ethernet) in addition to or instead ofa wireless interface.

In some embodiments, communications subsystem 924 may also receive inputcommunication in the form of structured and/or unstructured data feeds926, event streams 928, event updates 930, and the like on behalf of oneor more users who may use computer system 900.

By way of example, communications subsystem 924 may be configured toreceive data feeds 926 in real-time from users of social networks and/orother communication services such as Twitter® feeds, Facebook® updates,web feeds such as Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, and/or real-timeupdates from one or more third party information sources.

Additionally, communications subsystem 924 may also be configured toreceive data in the form of continuous data streams, which may includeevent streams 928 of real-time events and/or event updates 930, that maybe continuous or unbounded in nature with no explicit end. Examples ofapplications that generate continuous data may include, for example,sensor data applications, financial tickers, network performancemeasuring tools (e.g. network monitoring and traffic managementapplications), clickstream analysis tools, automobile trafficmonitoring, and the like.

Communications subsystem 924 may also be configured to output thestructured and/or unstructured data feeds 926, event streams 928, eventupdates 930, and the like to one or more databases that may be incommunication with one or more streaming data source computers coupledto computer system 900.

Computer system 900 can be one of various types, including a handheldportable device (e.g., an iPhone® cellular phone, an iPad® computingtablet, a PDA), a wearable device (e.g., a Google Glass® head mounteddisplay), a PC, a workstation, a mainframe, a kiosk, a server rack, orany other data processing system.

Due to the ever-changing nature of computers and networks, thedescription of computer system 900 depicted in the figure is intendedonly as a specific example. Many other configurations having more orfewer components than the system depicted in the figure are possible.For example, customized hardware might also be used and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, firmware, software (includingapplets), or a combination. Further, connection to other computingdevices, such as network input/output devices, may be employed. Based onthe disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement thevarious embodiments.

Although specific embodiments have been described, variousmodifications, alterations, alternative constructions, and equivalentsare also encompassed within the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments arenot restricted to operation within certain specific data processingenvironments, but are free to operate within a plurality of dataprocessing environments. Additionally, although embodiments have beendescribed using a particular series of transactions and steps, it shouldbe apparent to those skilled in the art that the scope of the presentdisclosure is not limited to the described series of transactions andsteps. Various features and aspects of the above-described embodimentsmay be used individually or jointly.

Further, while embodiments have been described using a particularcombination of hardware and software, it should be recognized that othercombinations of hardware and software are also within the scope of thepresent disclosure. Embodiments may be implemented only in hardware, oronly in software, or using combinations thereof. The various processesdescribed herein can be implemented on the same processor or differentprocessors in any combination. Accordingly, where components or modulesare described as being configured to perform certain operations, suchconfiguration can be accomplished, e.g., by designing electroniccircuits to perform the operation, by programming programmableelectronic circuits (such as microprocessors) to perform the operation,or any combination thereof. Processes can communicate using a variety oftechniques including but not limited to conventional techniques forinter process communication, and different pairs of processes may usedifferent techniques, or the same pair of processes may use differenttechniques at different times.

The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, beevident that additions, subtractions, deletions, and other modificationsand changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broaderspirit and scope as set forth in the claims. Thus, although specificdisclosure embodiments have been described, these are not intended to belimiting. Various modifications and equivalents are within the scope ofthe following claims.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in thecontext of describing the disclosed embodiments (especially in thecontext of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both thesingular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearlycontradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,”and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning“including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. The term“connected” is to be construed as partly or wholly contained within,attached to, or joined together, even if there is something intervening.Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as ashorthand method of referring individually to each separate valuefalling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein and eachseparate value is incorporated into the specification as if it wereindividually recited herein. All methods described herein can beperformed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein orotherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and allexamples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, isintended merely to better illuminate embodiments and does not pose alimitation on the scope of the disclosure unless otherwise claimed. Nolanguage in the specification should be construed as indicating anynon-claimed element as essential to the practice of the disclosure.

Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is intended to be understoodwithin the context as used in general to present that an item, term,etc., may be either X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y,and/or Z). Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to,and should not, imply that certain embodiments require at least one ofX, at least one of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present.

Preferred embodiments of this disclosure are described herein, includingthe best mode known for carrying out the disclosure. Variations of thosepreferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art upon reading the foregoing description. Those of ordinary skillshould be able to employ such variations as appropriate and thedisclosure may be practiced otherwise than as specifically describedherein. Accordingly, this disclosure includes all modifications andequivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended heretoas permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of theabove-described elements in all possible variations thereof isencompassed by the disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein.

All references, including publications, patent applications, andpatents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the sameextent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicatedto be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entiretyherein.

In the foregoing specification, aspects of the disclosure are describedwith reference to specific embodiments thereof, but those skilled in theart will recognize that the disclosure is not limited thereto. Variousfeatures and aspects of the above-described disclosure may be usedindividually or jointly. Further, embodiments can be utilized in anynumber of environments and applications beyond those described hereinwithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of thespecification. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a computingdevice, an indication that a new device has been connected to a network;generating, by the computing device and based at least in part on acomparison between a first set of memory specifications associated withthe new device and a second set of memory specifications associated witha remote computing device, a memory-asset data structure configured tostore a third set of memory specifications, each memory specification ofthe third set of memory specifications being included in both the firstset of memory specifications and the second set of memoryspecifications; and assigning, by the computing device and to eachmemory specification of the third set of memory specifications, a dataprivacy level that is based at least in part on a sensitivity of datastored in a component of the new device.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining that a particular memory specificationof the third set of memory specifications is not assigned a data privacylevel; and assigning, to the particular memory specification, a highestdata privacy level, wherein a highest data privacy level indicates thatthe component of the new device identified by the particular memoryspecification stores highly sensitive data.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: defining a fourth set of memory specifications thatincludes memory specifications from the first set of memoryspecifications that are not in the second set of memory specificationsand memory specifications from the second set of memory specificationsthat are not in the first set of memory specifications.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the memory-asset data structure includes, for eachmemory specification of the third set of memory specifications, anidentification of a physical location of the component identified by thememory specification.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the memory-assetdata structure stores memory specifications of a plurality of devicesconnected to a same network.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein thememory specifications of the plurality of devices are represented in ahierarchy that is based in part on an identification of a data centereach device of the plurality of devices operates within.
 7. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication of a change inan operation status of the new device; determining, based at least inpart on the memory-asset data structure, that at least one memoryspecification of the new device is assigned a high data privacy level;and erasing, in response to determining that at least one memoryspecification of the new device is assigned a high data privacy level,any data stored on the component of the new device identified by the atleast one memory specification.
 8. A system comprising: one or moreprocessors; and a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring instructions that when executed by the one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:receiving an indication that a new device has been connected to anetwork; generating, based at least in part on a comparison between afirst set of memory specifications associated with the new device and asecond set of memory specifications associated with a remote computingdevice, a memory-asset data structure configured to store a third set ofmemory specifications, each memory specification of the third set ofmemory specifications being included in both the first set of memoryspecifications and the second set of memory specifications; andassigning, to each memory specification of the third set of memoryspecifications, a data privacy level that is based at least in part on asensitivity of data stored in a component of the new device.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, further comprising: determining that a particularmemory specification of the third set of memory specifications is notassigned a data privacy level; and assigning, to the particular memoryspecification, a highest data privacy level, wherein a highest dataprivacy level indicates that the component of the new device identifiedby the particular memory specification stores highly sensitive data. 10.The system of claim 8, further comprising: defining a fourth set ofmemory specifications that includes memory specifications from the firstset of memory specifications that are not in the second set of memoryspecifications and memory specifications from the second set of memoryspecifications that are not in the first set of memory specifications.11. The system of claim 8, wherein the memory-asset data structureincludes, for each memory specification of the third set of memoryspecifications, an identification of a physical location of thecomponent identified by the memory specification.
 12. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the memory-asset data structure stores memoryspecifications of a plurality of devices connected to a same network.13. The system of claim 12, wherein the memory specifications of theplurality of devices are represented in a hierarchy that is based inpart on an identification of a data center each device of the pluralityof devices operates within.
 14. The system of claim 8, furthercomprising: receiving an indication of a change in an operation statusof the new device; determining, based at least in part on thememory-asset data structure, that at least one memory specification ofthe new device is assigned a high data privacy level; and erasing, inresponse to determining that at least one memory specification of thenew device is assigned a high data privacy level, any data stored on thecomponent of the new device identified by the at least one memoryspecification.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring instructions that when executed by one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to perform operations including: receiving anindication that a new device has been connected to a network;generating, based at least in part on a comparison between a first setof memory specifications associated with the new device and a second setof memory specifications associated with a remote computing device, amemory-asset data structure configured to store a third set of memoryspecifications, each memory specification of the third set of memoryspecifications being included in both the first set of memoryspecifications and the second set of memory specifications; andassigning, to each memory specification of the third set of memoryspecifications, a data privacy level that is based at least in part on asensitivity of data stored in a component of the new device.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, furthercomprising: determining that a particular memory specification of thethird set of memory specifications is not assigned a data privacy level;and assigning, to the particular memory specification, a highest dataprivacy level, wherein a highest data privacy level indicates that thecomponent of the new device identified by the particular memoryspecification stores highly sensitive data.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising:defining a fourth set of memory specifications that includes memoryspecifications from the first set of memory specifications that are notin the second set of memory specifications and memory specificationsfrom the second set of memory specifications that are not in the firstset of memory specifications.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 15, wherein the memory-asset data structureincludes, for each memory specification of the third set of memoryspecifications, an identification of a physical location of thecomponent identified by the memory specification.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the memory-assetdata structure stores memory specifications of a plurality of devicesconnected to a same network.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 15, further comprising: receiving an indicationof a change in an operation status of the new device; determining, basedat least in part on the memory-asset data structure, that at least onememory specification of the new device is assigned a high data privacylevel; and erasing, in response to determining that at least one memoryspecification of the new device is assigned a high data privacy level,any data stored on the component of the new device identified by the atleast one memory specification.